Gas2No99 Posted March 10, 2017 Share Posted March 10, 2017 Jets mentioned in report about NFL painkiller abuse The Jets were mentioned in a Thursday report by The Washington Post about painkiller abuse in the NFL. They gave a large amount of painkillers to players, but they're not alone in that regard. Here is the gist of the report, which does not mention the Giants or Eagles: National Football League teams violated federal laws governing prescription drugs, disregarded guidance from the Drug Enforcement Administration on how to store, track, transport and distribute controlled substances, and plied their players with powerful painkillers and anti-inflammatories each season, according to sealed court documents contained in a federal lawsuit filed by former players. The sealed material, which was reviewed by The Washington Post, provides a rare look into the league's relationship with drugs and how team doctors manage the pain inherent in a bruising sport to keep players on the field. So where do the Jets come in? They are mentioned midway through the story, along with the Steelers. (A Jets representative declined to comment to the newspaper.) A January 2010 email from a New York Jets assistant trainer revealed that team's use in 2008: 1,031 doses of Toradol and 1,295 doses of Vicodin. The following season the Jets' use of Toradol increased to 1,178 doses and of Vicodin to 1,564 doses. Toradol, a non-steroidal anti-inflammatory often used to manage short-term postoperative pain, deadens feeling and inhibits the body's ability to sense injury. The opiate Vicodin also relieves and masks pain, but unlike Toradol, it is highly addictive. According to the March 2013 document from Brown [Lawrence Brown, the NFL-employed medical adviser who oversees its drug issues], the Steelers provided its players 7,442 doses of NSAIDs in 2012 -- only the 10th most in the league that year -- and 2,123 doses of unnamed controlled medications -- the 14th most. The 2008 season was Eric Mangini's last as the Jets' head coach, and the 2009 season was Rex Ryan's first. Painkiller abuse is one big reason why some current and former NFL players have strong advocated for the league removing marijuana (scientifically proven to be less addictive than many of these painkillers) from its banned substances list. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gas2No99 Posted March 10, 2017 Author Share Posted March 10, 2017 NFL teams broke federal laws regarding prescription painkillers, per report John BarrESPN.com WASHINGTON -- NFL teams frequently violated federal laws that govern how they should store, track and distribute prescription painkillers, according to sealed court documents obtained by the Washington Post. The court documents are part of an ongoing federal lawsuit, filed by more than 1,800 former NFL players, and include testimony from team doctors and trainers. The players, who are suing the NFL in U.S. District Court in Northern California, claim they suffered long-term health problems as a result of the improper and deceptive drug distribution practices by NFL teams, according to the court filing. "Every doctor deposed so far ... has testified that they violated one or more" federal drug law and regulation "while serving in their capacity as a team doctor," the court filing states. Anthony Yates, the Pittsburgh Steelers' team doctor and past president of the NFL Physicians Society, testified in a deposition that "a majority of clubs as of 2010 had trainers controlling and handling prescription medications and controlled substances when they should not have," according to the Post report. Bud Carpenter, the Buffalo Bills' longtime trainer, "admitted under oath that he witnessed team doctors give players injections of prescription medications without telling them what the drug was they were receiving or its side effects. ... He further testified that doctors provided prescription medications at places other than where they were allowed to do so in violation of federal and state laws," according to the court filing reviewed by the Post. The Drug Enforcement Administration has clear guidelines on how doctors should store, transport and distribute prescription painkillers, which are considered controlled substances. But the documents reviewed by the Post suggest teams had a "cavalier attitude" toward those federal guidelines. In August 2009, for example, Cincinnati Bengals head trainer Paul Sparling wrote in an email: "Can you have your office fax a copy of your DEA certificate to me? I need it for my records when the NFL 'pill counters' come to see if we are doing things right. Don't worry, I'm pretty good at keeping them off the trail!" Sparling was not made available to the Post for comment and did not respond to questions from the newspaper about his 2010 email. In January 2011, Outside the Lines ran a series of reports on painkiller misuse by former NFL players. The central component of that reporting was a first-of-its-kind study of painkiller use by retired NFL players. The study, funded by ESPN and the National Institute on Drug Abuse, a division of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, was published in the peer-reviewed journal Drug and Alcohol Dependence. Researchers from the School of Medicine at Washington University in St. Louis interviewed 644 retired NFL players, asking them extensive questions about their use and misuse of prescription painkillers, both as active players and in their present lives. The study found that retired NFL players misuse opioid pain medications at a rate more than four times that of the general population and suggested that occurred because players misused the drugs during their NFL careers. Other key findings from the study: • Of the retired players, 52 percent said they used prescription pain medication during their playing days. Of those, 71 percent said they misused the drugs then, and 15 percent of the misusers acknowledged misusing the medication within the past 30 days. • Those who misused prescription painkillers while playing were three times more likely to misuse the drugs after their careers than those who used the pills as prescribed while playing. • Of the retired players, 63 percent who used prescription pain pills while playing obtained the medications from a nonmedical source, such as a teammate, coach, trainer, family member, dealer or the internet. Several retired NFL players told researchers and Outside the Lines at the time that it was commonplace for trainers to hand out prescription pain pills. Under the law, only a doctor with the authority to write prescriptions can distribute controlled substances such as Vicodin and OxyContin. While it's illegal for team doctors to transport and distribute medications outside of the states where they have the authority to prescribe the painkillers, several retired players told Outside the Lines that too was a common practice. The court filing, reviewed by the Post, reveals that NFL teams "dispensed painkillers and prescription-strength anti-inflammatories in numbers far beyond anything previously acknowledged or made public." Almost 8,000 doses of nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs and controlled medications were prescribed to players in the 2012 calendar year, according to an internal document from NFL medical adviser Lawrence Brown obtained by the Post. Those numbers could average out to about six to seven pain pills or injections a week per player over the course of a typical NFL season, according to the report. "It sounds like an incredible amount of intervention with some pretty risky drugs, some of which, in the case of Vicodin, have a high addiction potential," Arthur Caplan, director of the Division of Medical Ethics at New York University's Langone Medical Center and co-founder of the NYU Sports and Society Program, told the newspaper. "It makes you think, are the physicians looking out for the health of the players, or are they just trying to keep them on the field?" Caplan added. NFL spokesman Brian McCarthy told the Post that the allegations contained in the court filing "are meritless, and the league and its clubs will continue to vigorously defend these claims." "The NFL clubs and their medical staffs are all in compliance with the Controlled Substances Act," McCarthy said in an email. "... The NFL clubs and their medical staffs continue to put the health and safety of our players first, providing all NFL players with the highest quality medical care. Any claim or suggestion to the contrary is simply wrong." The NFL declined to make its medical advisers available to comment to the Post. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gas2No99 Posted March 10, 2017 Author Share Posted March 10, 2017 That veteran Jets team of 2008-2010 gobbled up the locker room Candy Pain killers, it seems Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dcat Posted March 10, 2017 Share Posted March 10, 2017 The Jets shouldn't be giving excessive amounts of painkillers to their players. That's a waste of resources. They should be giving them to their fans, especially season ticket holders. The most potent painkillers need to go to the PSL holders. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Smashmouth Posted March 10, 2017 Share Posted March 10, 2017 15 minutes ago, Dcat said: The Jets shouldn't be giving excessive amounts of painkillers to their players. That's a waste of resources. They should be giving them to their fans, especially season ticket holders. The most potent painkillers need to go to the PSL holders. welcome to NYJ pain killer day..... take a handfull, you wont remember WTF you just watched Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
slats Posted March 10, 2017 Share Posted March 10, 2017 19 minutes ago, Dcat said: The Jets shouldn't be giving excessive amounts of painkillers to their players. That's a waste of resources. They should be giving them to their fans, especially season ticket holders. The most potent painkillers need to go to the PSL holders. Lol, beat me to it. Was gonna say this is probably a bigger problem for the fanbase. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dbatesman Posted March 10, 2017 Share Posted March 10, 2017 The Jets employed Elliot Pellman as team physician for tears, so I'm not sure why we'd be surprised that we're in the middle of a medical malpractice case. It's a minor miracle any of our players are alive at all. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SAR I Posted March 10, 2017 Share Posted March 10, 2017 50 minutes ago, Dcat said: The Jets shouldn't be giving excessive amounts of painkillers to their players. That's a waste of resources. They should be giving them to their fans, especially season ticket holders. The most potent painkillers need to go to the PSL holders. I can't believe I have to write a check for $5,500 for a 2-14 team for which I may attend 2 or 3 games. It's times like these that will make our inevitable Super Bowl championship that much sweeter. SAR I Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
De-Jet-Erate/Duane Posted March 10, 2017 Share Posted March 10, 2017 So much for protecting the integrity of the Shield Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jmat321 Posted March 10, 2017 Share Posted March 10, 2017 I miss Sal Alosi Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bleedin Green Posted March 10, 2017 Share Posted March 10, 2017 37 minutes ago, jmat321 said: I miss Sal Alosi I guess he wasn't the only one on the Jets that was... tripping. I'll see myself out. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Patriot Killa Posted March 10, 2017 Share Posted March 10, 2017 Yet god forbid someone smokes weed. You'll be demonized and suspended. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JetFreak89 Posted March 10, 2017 Share Posted March 10, 2017 2 hours ago, Bleedin Green said: I guess he wasn't the only one on the Jets that was... tripping. I'll see myself out. I don't know whether to rep or neg you for this, so I'll leave it as neutral. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dcat Posted March 10, 2017 Share Posted March 10, 2017 4 hours ago, Smashmouth said: welcome to NYJ pain killer day..... take a handfull, you wont remember WTF you just watched this is sig worthy Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jetworks Posted March 10, 2017 Share Posted March 10, 2017 I don't get all the hoopla about including Toradol. It's an NSAID with the biggest advantage being it bypasses first pass since it's an intramuscular injection, thereby making it that much more effective. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
greenwave81 Posted March 10, 2017 Share Posted March 10, 2017 Not sure why there's such a stink about Toradol....nothing more than an IV form of Motrin or Aleve etc. now the Vicodin and other opiates is definitely an issue. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Larz Posted March 10, 2017 Share Posted March 10, 2017 I wonder what LT took that time he played a playoff game with a broken ankle. I wonder what nelson took to play in the SB Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jetscrazey Posted March 10, 2017 Share Posted March 10, 2017 end the pill-popping madness and allow marijuana Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jet Life Posted March 11, 2017 Share Posted March 11, 2017 Cant smoke weed but keep popping pills Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sperm Edwards Posted March 11, 2017 Share Posted March 11, 2017 1 hour ago, Larz said: I wonder what LT took that time he played a playoff game with a broken ankle. I wonder what nelson took to play in the SB Probably just Tylenol. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JetFaninMI Posted March 11, 2017 Share Posted March 11, 2017 7 hours ago, Gas2No99 said: Jets mentioned in report about NFL painkiller abuse The Jets were mentioned in a Thursday report by The Washington Post about painkiller abuse in the NFL. They gave a large amount of painkillers to players, but they're not alone in that regard. sh*t they should hand them out to season ticket holder's for having to pay to watch this team. Directv subscribers too. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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